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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he is concerned about right fielder Yasiel Puig over reports that he has receiving death threats since joining the team last year.

Los Angeles Magazine and ESPN The Magazine published feature stories on Puig this week detailing his escape from Cuba. According to the reports, the threats were a result of friction between rival groups that helped Puig leave the island and whether they should share in the $42 million contract he signed with the Dodgers.

Puig and the Dodgers' front office are not commenting, but Mattingly on Thursday said, "If you care about Yasiel, you worry about it. There's some serious stuff that he has to deal with. I think you have to worry about it if you care about him as a person. You worry about what he's going through."

Mattingly said he was not aware of Puig's situation until general manager Ned Colletti told him before the reports came out earlier this week.

"If it was news to anyone above me, I don't know that, but it was definitely news to me," he said. "I think it was news to anybody in our clubhouse. I know a lot of people check in on Yasiel that know a lot more than I do. I'm the manager of the baseball team. I'm not running the whole organization. I'm not the president or ownership."

Mattingly said the organization and teammates will give Puig all the support he needs.